


Project Queen Sansa

by stumpyy



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms
Genre: Arya is not very good at it, Arya-centric, F/M, Lyanna is very thorough, Matchmaking, R plus L equals J, mostly fluffy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-18
Updated: 2016-07-18
Packaged: 2018-07-24 16:34:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,821
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7515314
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stumpyy/pseuds/stumpyy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompt: Arya and Lyanna  team up to match make the King of the North with the Lady of Winterfell, Bran refuses to go along with the scheme because he knows they don’t actually need any help in that department. </p>
<p>Originally posted on tumblr, but I like all my fic here too.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Project Queen Sansa

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own A Song of Ice and Fire or Game of Thrones. All rights belong to George RR Martin and HBO. 
> 
> My fluffiest fic so far.

The mood in Winterfell chilled all its inhabitants to the bone when Littlefinger was found murdered in his own chambers and one of the Bolton prisoners mysteriously escaped in the same night.

Winter gets a tiny bit warmer when Arya arrives at Winterfell’s gates the next day, dissolving the unease of recent events completely. She walks slowly, exhausted from the long journey and the unforgiving chill that stills the air until she sees Jon and Sansa. Nothing can stop her at that point. There is less than a heartbeat between the moment their eyes meet each other Arya’s reunion with Jon is fierce and heart wrenching, filled with an overwhelming sense of joy that only comes from living without hope of seeing someone ever again.

Arya spots Sansa descending from the battlements with an initial sense of hesitation. Both soon recognise the forgiveness and the unconditional acceptance of any past grievances and mistakes in each other’s expressions. Their embrace is between two people that have become closer since they’ve been apart.

No one is happier to see the two Stark sisters together than Jon, who just can’t stop smiling. The sight is something he never realised that he wanted until it was right there before him. As different as they were, Sansa and Arya did belong together, after all.

At the high table that evening Arya can’t help but notice that Jon and Sansa bear a striking resemblance to her parents. Except that, Sansa looks more comfortable in the unforgiving North than their mother ever did. Her eyes were not the southern waters of the Riverlands, they were jewels of pure ice that shine blue in the sunlight. Her hair was weirwood leaves and the burning hearths that kept them alive.

Arya doesn’t like the way the Northern lords look at Sansa with hungry interest. She thinks Jon sees it too and likes it even less if the way his hand always rests protectively on Sansa’s chair is anything to go by.

***

When Bran comes home from beyond the Wall things get a lot more complicated in the Stark household as testimony from Howland Reed confirms what Bran has seen in his visions. Although both Arya and Sansa are sitting beside Jon when they hear the news, it is Sansa’s hand that he reaches for.

As much as he wanted to, being King in the North didn’t give Jon the luxury of being able to withdraw into himself to process this complete overturn of everything he thought he knew about himself. Perhaps this was an opportunity to pass on the leadership of the North to Sansa, but Jon expressed that he was unsure of how ready the Northern lords would be to rally behind a woman given the fact that the truth about his parentage will be such a colossal revelation for all.

When the announcement is finally made in front of all houses sworn to House Stark, the atmosphere is not a promising one, with many Lords expressing open disapproval of Jon’s dragon-born sire.

Lyanna Mormont, the fiercest bear cub that Arya has ever see, was there to save the day. When she speaks, the rest of the hall is silent.

“Some of you may say that Jon Snow is unfit to Lord over us with the Targaryen blood that flows in his veins. I say that he stands for everything we should fight for. When Rhaegar stole my namesake away he took Ned Stark’s sister away from the North. This event attempted to break our spirit, but still, we did not surrender. The love that Ned Stark had for his sister was stronger than dragons and their armies, and the Northern blood prevailed over the might of old Valyria when our King was born. Rhaegar wanted the third head of the dragon but Jon Snow is no dragon. I look at Jon Snow and see a wolf that will lead us through the Long Night, I see a King that will lead us to true independence and liberate us from the clutches of the South for many winters to come.”

Her words marked the second time these halls heard the roar of “King in the North.”

***

Although Sansa gets almost no recognition for it, she fulfils all the tasks that would usually fall to the Lady of Winterfell. She manages provisions, oversees the reconstruction of the keep and makes sure all the visiting Lords and Ladies are happy with their lodgings. Arya is not surprised that even after all these years, Sansa is still good at everything that she puts her mind to. 

Even though provisions are scarce and a lot of the smallfolk have very little, Sansa’s effortless charm enchants Winterfell and helps it to return slowly to its former glory.

Despite her sister’s successes, Arya cannot help but wonder whether Sansa is truly content with her current position. When they feast in the Hall, Arya sees Sansa’s tortured eyes longingly gazing at their cousin. It feels strange to think of him as that, but Arya finds that calling him that helps her grasp the current reality that still slips away from her sometimes since she has returned from Braavos. Brother or cousin, it doesn’t matter when she cares for him in the same way.

Suddenly, Arya realises a solution to her sister’s plight.

Sansa Stark, Queen in the North. Oh, how sweet that sounds.

Whilst Arya was very proficient at sticking people with the pointy end, admittedly, her political prowess was severely limited to properly execute her newfound plan.

She thinks that the Old Gods have smiled on her when amidst looking for Jon, she instead finds Lyanna Mormont in the library of Winterfell surrounded by piles upon piles of scrolls and books, each detailing the lineage of the most prominent Northern Houses.

Next to the mountain of books lies a sheet of parchment with a fairly long list of names that Arya skims over. The little Mormont doesn’t seem to notice her presence, too engrossed in her research. One pair, in particular, jumps out at her. Rickard and Lyarra Stark, her grandparents. Given that most couples on the list share the same family name, it doesn’t take long for Arya to figure out that the rest of the list details a multitude of cases of cousin marriage in Northern families.

“What’s this for, Lady Mormont, if I may ask?” Inquires Arya with honest curiosity.

“I am preparing for a formal proposal that the King and Lady Sansa should marry to secure the Northern lineage,” Lyanna replies matter-of-factly, as is her custom, pointing to the list of about 30 names that Arya was previously looking at she continues. “Do you think this is enough, Lady Arya, or should I list the cases of marriages between uncles and nieces and the like as well?”

Lyanna Mormont’s fierce nature already made Arya wish that she had the girl as a playmate when she was younger, now Arya is even more convinced that they will get along splendidly.

“Don’t trouble yourself with the effort, Lady Mormont, I think we have quite enough.”

***

When Arya tells Bran of her brilliant idea, her brother seems so disinterested in the plan that Arya is slightly disheartened. She realises that it’s because throughout this whole time she has failed to consider whether this will truly make Sansa and Jon happy. This new development complicated her plan slightly, but Arya became determined to make Sansa and Jon fall in love.

Perhaps then they would stop arguing who should take the Lord’s chamber, Arya was getting really tired of hearing that daily…

Arya isn’t a professional matchmaker, but she hopes with her whole heart that her primitive tactics will help sow the seed of romantic affection in their heads.

When they break their fast together Jon almost chokes on his porridge at Arya’s attempt.

“Doesn’t Sansa look radiant today, Jon?” Arya is pleased to see a faint blush emerging on Sansa’s cheeks.

“Well, I did say it is warmer in the Lord’s chambers,” is Jon’s only reply after his narrow escape from death, his face smug with satisfaction.

Arya shuts up before she has to hear that line of conversation again. She glares at Bran as he calmly eats his breakfast, she wonders whether he could have possibly been any more unhelpful during this whole debacle. How aggravating.

Arya will have to do better than this, it seems.

*** 

The day a bouquet of blue winter roses is discovered outside of Sansa’s chamber, sent by a “secret admirer”, the tensions are high at the Stark breakfast table. Sansa has a helpless, guilty aura about her and Jon was staring holes into his food. Meanwhile, Bran gave Arya a disapproving look but said nothing. Arya didn’t quite know what to make of it all. Despite her best efforts and the great lengths it took for Lyanna to source the winter roses, they weren’t any closer to their goal.

Feeling down later that afternoon, Arya chose to seek solace in the Godswood. Maybe she will even pray to the Old Gods for the happiness of her family, she certainly hasn’t done that in a long long while.

Arya is glad for her Faceless training when she hears voices coming from the woods before she can possibly be seen. Arya hides behind a trunk with her back touching the tree in order to better conceal her presence.

“I see how they all look at you,” she heard Jon say, “How am I supposed to believe that you have absolutely no idea who sent you those?”

“You know I could never truly care for any of them, Jon,” pleads the voice of her sister. “Not in the same way that I care for you.”

Arya waits for Jon’s reply but it never comes. She tentatively turns around, finding the most astounding scene in front of her eyes. Jon kissing Sansa. Sansa kissing him back. Arya immediately feels like she is intruding on something sacred, but can’t seem to avert her eyes. She restrains herself to prevent screaming from joy.

Her hands are in his hair and he is stroking her cheek with heartbreaking tenderness and an alarming sense of familiarity. Arya jumps when she hears Bran come up behind her, smiling serenely.

Suddenly it all makes sense, the longing stares, the relief at Bran’s news, the sweet shared smiles. For all Arya knows about death, the matters of the heart are clearly not her strong suit. She wants to be angry at Bran for failing to mention this tiny little detail, but she can’t pretend to understand how the past, the present, and the future weave the web of time in the way that he does.

Although Arya is slightly dismayed that she couldn’t be the instrument of her sister’s happiness, she can see that no intervention was necessary to show Jon and Sansa that they were meant for each other.


End file.
